Year-End MMA KO Honors Split: Ruffy Leads MMA Fighting, Murphy Takes Bloody Elbow
Two major outlets diverge on the top finish of 2025, with spinning strikes defining the season’s most celebrated knockouts.
Overview
- MMA Fighting, published via Yahoo Sports, voted Mauricio Ruffy’s spinning wheel-kick of King Green at UFC 313 as its 2025 Knockout of the Year.
- Bloody Elbow named Lerone Murphy’s spinning elbow of Aaron Pico at UFC 319 as its KO of the Year, highlighting the bout’s title-eliminator stakes.
- MMAMania’s separate list also placed Murphy first and Ruffy second, reinforcing the split and the prominence of spinning techniques.
- Both roundups spotlighted additional 2025 standouts, including Ilia Topuria’s finish of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 and Quillan Salkilld’s head-kick of Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 321.
- Cesar Almeida’s early-year knockout of Abdul Razak Alhassan and other highlight finishes underscored a year where spectacle and context drove editorial choices.